Third Chilliwack shooting victim still alive, police say (updated)

Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun08.20.2014

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Monday that a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for Aaron James David Douglas, 33, whose criminal record dates back to 1996 and who is believed to be armed and dangerous. He is a suspect in a triple shooting in Chilliwack early Thursday that left two men dead and a woman wounded.Handout
/ IHIT

Tyler Belcourt, pictured here, was one of two men shot to death in Chilliwack on Thursday, August 7.Handout
/ Submitted

Tyler Belcourt (left), 36, pictured here with his brother, was one of two men shot to death in Chilliwack on Thursday, August 7. A third shooting victim, a woman, was in hospital with serious injuries, according to IHIT.Handout
/ Submitted

According to posts on Facebook, Richard Blackmon was shot dead early last Thursday morning. His body was one of two found in the Hawthorne Manor apartment building in the 46100-block of Gore Avenue.Via
/ Facebook.com

According to posts on Facebook, Richard Blackmon was shot dead early last Thursday morning. His body was one of two found in the Hawthorne Manor apartment building in the 46100-block of Gore Avenue.Via
/ Facebook.com

According to posts on Facebook, Richard Blackmon was shot dead early last Thursday morning. His body was one of two found in the Hawthorne Manor apartment building in the 46100-block of Gore Avenue.Via
/ Facebook.com

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METRO VANCOUVER - Homicide detectives were forced on Tuesday to dispel growing Internet rumours about the death of a woman shot last week in Chilliwack, saying she is still alive in hospital.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has released very little information about the case in which two men were killed in a targeted shooting at the Hawthorne Manor apartment building last Thursday.

IHIT spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Pound said police would not comment on the status of the woman who survived or the injuries she sustained, but confirmed she was still alive. Friends of the woman had been posting memorial messages on her Facebook page in recent days.

"We release information on a 'need to know' basis, as we did with releasing the suspect's photo and a public warning. We do not release information on a 'want to know' basis just to satisfy curiosity," said Pound in an email to The Vancouver Sun on Tuesday morning.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for Aaron James David Douglas, 33, whose criminal record dates back to 1996 and who is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Douglas is a suspect in last week's shootings, which killed 38-year-old Richard Blackmon and 36-year-old Tyler Belcourt.

The motive behind the shooting is unknown.

It was also unclear why IHIT waited five days to inform the public that a suspect was at large.

Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University and expert on homicides, said the obligation of police is to public safety, but often they have to balance that with whether they can secure an arrest.

"It's very difficult to second-guess their judgment," he said. "There are good reasons why you might not want to release information at the outset — possibly they may have had an opportunity to apprehend that suspect, and that maybe after a few days they realized that wasn't going to be possible so they put out the information."

He said many times they hold back information because of the possibility it could jeopardize an arrest.

Another SFU criminologist, Robert Gordon, said he believes investigators likely felt that the risk to the public was low because the shootings are believed to be targeted.

"In this instance, I assume they decided to opt in favour of remaining relatively quiet," he said. "Probably because there is some connection to criminal activity on a larger scale."

Pound said the decision was made to alert the public on Monday after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for Douglas, but she did not elaborate on that decision.

Less than a month before last week's shootings, Douglas was released from custody by the B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack after an attempted murder charge was dropped.

Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the charges were stayed July 24 after the Crown concluded the evidence "was not sufficiently strong" to provide a likelihood of conviction for attempted murder.

A report in the Chilliwack Times identified the shooting victim in that case as Jeff Karpes, who was shot twice in the chest while sitting in a vehicle on Dec. 23, 2012.

Douglas's rap sheet dates back nearly two decades. He has been found guilty of multiple counts of breach of probation, for resisting or obstructing a peace officer, possession of stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, driving while prohibited, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession for the purpose of trafficking, among other offences.

In less than a week, Abbotsford recording artists Hedley went from touring Canada with two supporting acts and a popular new album to pariahs ensnared in allegations of sexual misconduct. On Monday, accusations that band members Jacob Hoggard, Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Jay Benison had engaged in sexual behaviour with teenage girls surfaced on Twitter […]

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